Trakas Visits Nature Walk

George Trakas, the environmental sculptor who conceptualized the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, recently visited the site.

One of the Gilboa Fossils, thought to be from one of the earth’s oldest forests.

As work continues to expand the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, the artist, George Trakas, was recently on-site as the 385-million-year- old tree fossils from the area of Gilboa Dam in Schoharie County were delivered. The Gilboa Fossils, evidence of one of earth’s oldest forests, will be on permanent display as a part of the expanded nature walk. Trakas is an environmental sculptor who works with derelict urban areas to create spaces that explore the relationship between nature, the built environment, and human presence.

A sneak peak of the new sections of the Newtown Creek Nature Walk.

Trakas conceptualized the nature walk as a part of the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Percent for Art Program’s commission for the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility in the late 1990s, and phase I was completed in 2007. Construction on phases II and III is scheduled to be completed this fall.